AID Delhi Newsletter (October 2010 to March 2011)

8/6/2019 AID Delhi Newsletter (October 2010 to March 2011)

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Sangharsh Seva Nirmaan

EDITORIAL

Table of Contents

Being Indian 3

By Shivangi Saxena

Volunteer Speaks4

By Shalini Gupta

Project Updates

Pehal 5

By Ashmeet Bilkhu,

Chetna Arora,

and Shalini Gupta

Meri Udaan6

By Vipra Dhawan

Childrens/Founders Day..7

By Zulaikha Rahman

Partner Project Updates

Saksham.8

By Vikramjeet SinghKoshish8

By Ayush Rastogi

AID Delhi Fund Raising Initiatives..9

By Ashmeet Biklhu

The AID Delhi Publication Team, in its

continuous endeavor to capture the efforts of

its dedicated volunteers, releases its second

edition.

In this edition, Shivangi Saxena, urges us to

earn our status as an Indian before being

proud of it. Next, Shalini Gupta pens down her

experience of working with the students of

Project Pehal.

Ashmeet Bilkhu, Chetna Arora and Shalini

Gupta provide us with updates on Pehal,

followed by Updates on Meri Udaan by VipraDhawan.

A brief description of the two events

Childrens Day and Founders Day that were

jointly celebrated by the volunteers and

students of Project Pehal appear next.

This is followed by updates from our partner

projects Saksham and Koshish and updates

on the various fund raising initiatives

undertaken by the volunteers of AID Delhi.

The newsletter has been designed by our

designer, Harsh Kalra.

Together our team hopes that the newsletter

proves to be an enriching read for one and all.

Zulaikha Rahman

Publication Coordinator, AID Delhi


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BEINGINDIANBy Shivangi Saxena

The second when I opened my tiny eyes into this

world, and cried till I surpassed all decibel levels, I had

not only made a successful transition to earth, but

also achieved the coveted Indian status.

As I grew up I realized that although it was easy to

bag the nationality, the real challenge was to prove

that I am an INDIAN.

I could read about the

kings who ruled and

plundered, the

monuments that were

constructed, the highest

peaks of Himalayas, the

stretch of northern

plains, the prime

ministers, the freedom

struggle, the wars fought,

the victorious moments

etc. But that knowledge

did not accentuate the

feeling that I was truly INDIAN.

I could go lengths speaking about our vibrant

economy and boisterous trade collaborations.

I could boast about the cultural heritage INDIA is

bestowed with, about the secularism and feelings of

brotherhood which emphasize the Utopian vision.

These can prove to be an effective means of utilizing

paper pulp.

Hollywood feats and our cinematic success are

enunciated at every award ceremony.I perform a mini jig every time Sachin Tendulkar

smashes the record and proves his iconic status.

But still, does that make me an INDIAN?

The abject poverty that victimizes millions of Indians

and proves to be an obstacle in the path of

development saddens me. But can the phrase 'feeling

sad justify my identity as an INDIAN?

The rampant corruption that plagues the nation has

left me feeling betrayed by my own elected leaders.

But can 'feeling betrayed ' morally make me an

INDIAN?Malnourishment and lack of basic essentials leaves

me hollow.

But can 'feeling hollow' make any headway to the

path of improving their living standards and make me

INDIAN?

The answers to the soul

searching questions above

are a vehement NO.

Being an Indian requiresmuch more than that. To

belong to a nation does

not translate to just

acquiring its citizenship. It

means to contribute to

the nation.

The contribution is

meaningful if it does not

have the financial ideology

that fills the coffers of the

government and Swiss banks. It means to work forthe betterment of the nation in whatever small way

you can. To work for the up-liftment of people who

are not blessed with two square meals.

The jingoistic attitude worn by many is just to

camouflage the guilt which erupts from the fact that

their contribution to the society is abysmal.

TRULY WANT TO BE AN INDIAN?

EARN YOUR STATUS AS A MEMBER OFTHE NATION!


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VOLUNTEER SPEAKSBY SHALINI GUPTA

I feel privileged to have had an education that defineswho I am and which has given me the confidence to

face the world. I continue to cherish my school days a time when learning was fun, when we were

blissfully unaware of our lifes foundations being laid

in those moments of gaiety and cheer. To share that

privilege with those who do not have it, has always

been a latent (but potent) desire, which came to

fruition when I took a break from my work as a

journalist in December last year. I was scouting for

organizations in the non-profit sector working

towards child education, when I came across AID

Delhi and its project Pehal that luckily was

operating in my neighborhood itself.

The very first day enthusiastic and exhilarating

children greeted me with Good afternoon Mam. It

felt good and at once made me realize that I have a

responsibility to shoulder. I was not sure how to start

off with teaching the kids, easy as it seems, so I

observed what the teachers were teaching them,

what the children knew, and how I could be a catalyst

in their learning process. Unlearning what I had

learnt was the first step to start teaching them. For

some, I had to literally start with teaching them A, B,

C, D. In other classes I would focus on asking the

students the meanings of words and push them to

frame sentences in Hindi and translate them into

English. One thing that I learnt while teaching these

kids was that its not about loading them with

information that they can hardly make sense of, but

instead making learning more interactive and easy for

them. While the teachers are taking care of their

syllabus, I took it onto myself to steer clear of

textbooks and teach them basics that would help lay

a good foundation. I figured out that most of them

had difficulty reading, understanding and writing

English. They were a little better in all the three areas

in Hindi though.

Language is the basis of all study and,

hence, I decided that my effort would

be to make them understand both the

languages, including how to speak and

write them better. This includes

correct pronunciation and bringingphonetics into play. I have been taking

reading in classes 4th

and 5th

, where I

ask students to come and read from

their textbooks. While there are

always the same enthusiastic

volunteers, its the shy ones that need

to be pushed. The objective is to make

reading fun.

These few months have been a humbling and learning

experience for me. By now, I remember the names ofmost of the students and also have a birds eye view

of their level of understanding and scope of

improvement. Most of the students have a desire to

learn and excel. I believe that my, or for that matter

anyone elses constructive intervention in their

learning process, would only help them realize what

more they could do with their lives. My effort has

been to awaken in them a curiosity and the

confidence to ask questions, because I believe that

even the right answer needs a right question.

I am reminded of a quote by Anatole France, The

whole art of teaching is only the art of awakening the

natural curiosity of young minds for the purpose of

satisfying it afterwards. We as teachers are here only

to ignite the fire of learning, and hope that the flame

lives on.


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PROJECT UPDATESPEHAL

BY ASHMEET BILKHU,CHETNA ARORA,AND SHALINI GUPTA

(www.projectpehal.blogspot.com)

The students in Pehal are taking ample interest in studies with the teachers/volunteers

continuously motivating them through personal counseling.

Over the last few months, significant improvements have been noticed in the academic grades,

and levels of comprehension and enthusiasm in the students. There have been weekly and

quarterly assessments to understand and monitor their progress and training programs have

been structured as per their needs.

The month of November kept the students busy as they prepared for their

midterm examinations. During this month, we witnessed a satisfactory

increase in the number of students who attended our program. All

students fared fairly well in their examination.

In December, we conducted an assessment test for the students to evaluate

their progress. Out of the entire lot, while all students brought positive results,

the students of 5th

standards showed remarkable

improvement in their performance. On the basis of these

test results, we introduced weekly tests to track the

performance of the students. These tests are held every

Friday.

In January, in order to gauge the grip of students in

basics, a surprise test was taken. Roughly 6070% of the

students from 4th

and 5th

standard were good. Our

volunteers gave extra attention to the students who

scored least.

Project Pehal completed a year in April and the volunteers are now

awaiting permission from the MCD to renew the contract. In the next

session, we have directed our focus towards the following:

Improving English, Hindi reading and recitation Exposing the students to more skill developing activities to

enable all-round development and making learning "more fun".
http://www.projectpehal.blogspot.com/http://www.projectpehal.blogspot.com/http://www.projectpehal.blogspot.com/http://www.projectpehal.blogspot.com/


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PROJECT UPDATESMERI UDAANBY VIPRA DHAWAN

(www.projectpehal.blogspot.com)

Meri Udaan comprises of 20 women attending classes regularly. The

girls in the project are more enthusiastic and are learning faster than

the ladies. The women can now write their signatures, read and write

varnamala and count till 100. In addition, basic word formation,

with and without matras has been taught to them.

The mathematics curriculum includes teaching basic arithmetic

operations. Most of the women can, now, solve addition and subtraction problems.

However, a few still get stuck on carry over questions in subtraction. The quick

learners and regular attendees are learning tables and working on multiplication and

division problems as well.

Regular assessment is being carried out by the

volunteers and written tests (specifically focusing

on spellings and comprehension) are conducted.

Due to the difference in the grasping power of the women, the teacher caters

to them individually by teaching thing relevant to each womanslevel. It has

been observed that the women also lack opinion on basic things and are not

used to stand for what is right for and beneficial to them.

AID Delhi plans to extend its program by doing the following:

We plan to start a new batch for women who live at a different location inthe same locality.

A few girls have been identified who are good in studies. We have asked theteacher to mentor them so that they could sit for the tenth standard CBSE

open school examinations.

We plan to conduct special sessions on:o Hygieneo Family Planningo Development of logical thinking that can assist in making decisionso How to fill in forms such as ration card/voters card requisition

forms for opening savings account etc.

We will procure a copy of study materials for adult literacy classes fromJamia Milia Islamia University which will help make the classes more

meaningful and fun for the women.
http://www.projectpehal.blogspot.com/http://www.projectpehal.blogspot.com/http://www.projectpehal.blogspot.com/http://www.projectpehal.blogspot.com/


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CHILDRENS/FOUNDERSDAYBY ZULAIKHA RAHMAN

Pehal celebrated Children's day along with Founder's day on 14th November, 2010. As the day

began, Sahipur School was filled with colors, cartoons, music and silent murmurs of excited

children who waited for the event to unroll. The children brought their parents along and

enthusiastically waited for them to applaud when they gave their dazzling performances.

The event started with a prayer where the volunteers and the children sang the song 'Itni shakti

hamein de na daata' backed by music played from a harmonium (played by Anandita Yadav).

This was followed by extravagant performances by our little children and volunteers. Dances,

songs and poems echoed in the venue. The children recited poems such as:

'Chacha Nehru ache the

Hum sab unke bacche the

karte the wo humse pyaar

ab to jeena hua dushwaar

14 november ka din hai aaya

Chacha ko sab ke saath paya

Hum sab bacche lagate hai awaaz

Chacha Nehru Zindabad!!'

The performances by the children concluded with a huge round of applause across the hall. Our volunteers then

conducted a play which reiterated the importance of education in a child's life. The volunteers wonderfully

displayed the future of an educated and an uneducated child. The stark contrast between the two were taken as

an example and later explained to the parents. We appealed to them to make a commitment towards educating

their children and ensure their bright future.

Our kids were now ready for some games! We organized a game in which we put up cartoon pictures of Popeye,

Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Schinchan on each wall. The children were asked to dance till the music played

and run to their favorite cartoon character as soon as it stopped. One of the cartoon characters was randomly

chosen and the children standing near that cartoon character were considered to be out. The entire venue filled

with cheerful voices and excited screams as children danced to music and ran.

The game was followed by a session of continuous dancing, where all the children and volunteers tapped their foot

to popular Bollywood numbers. In the end, we distributed prizes to the winners of the game, the top performingstudents, and the students who were regular in their attendance.

The tired children then sat down to have snacks which included samosas, chips and sweets. The day ended with

fun, frolic, and loads of laughter. As the children and their parents walked back home with a smile, we were

convinced that our team effort was a success!


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PARTNER PROJECTSSAKSHAM

BY VIKRAMJEET SINGH

Project Saksham is running at a faster pace than was expected. At this pace, money collection

from the rickshaw owners will finish much before the stipulated time of 7 months. The dream

of the rickshaw pullers, supported by Saksham, to own a rickshaw and be able to save Rs.30

40 a day is finally near realization. From the Rs. 21000 that we invested in three rickshaws, the

following is the pending amount:

Rickshaw 1 - Rs. 2,450

Rickshaw 2 - Rs. 1,700

Rickshaw 3 - Rs. 450

We at Saksham are glad to be able to turn this initiative into a success and bring happiness into the lives of

rickshaw pullers and their families.

PARTNER PROJECTSKOSHISH

BY AYUSH RASTOGI

Koshish is an AID Delhi partner which provides primary education to children (in the age

group 3-14 years) belonging to a squatters slum. Koshish aims to help the children secure

admission into government schools for their secondary education. In addition, they also

provide coaching to school going children so they fare well in their school performance and,

hence, prevent dropouts. The children who qualify secondary school are put through a 6

month computer training program which helps them get jobs as data entry operators/

computer games facilitators. The children who finish Class IX are put through a 3 month

course in repairing cell phones. In addition, the mothers of disadvantaged children are

provided with a tailoring course. Regular health and nutrition camps are arranged for the

children and various extracurricular activities like music, dance, painting, theatre, yoga and meditation are also

held.

AID Delhi partnered with Koshish in December 2010. In this partnership program the volunteers of AID Delhi teach

Mathematics to the students of class 6th - 12th. The classes are held every Saturday for 2-3 hours. Most of the

children studying at Koshish belong to government schools and are always eager to learn, however, they lag

behind due to lack of proper teaching. The foundation of every state is the education of its youth. While we are

teaching mathematics (and a little bit of other subjects) to the children, there is a dire need to teach them core

subjects like science. Koshish calls for more volunteers who are interested in teaching these subjects to the

children.


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AIDDELHI FUND RAISING INITIATIVESBY ASHMEET BILKHU

DIWALISTALLS

This October, AID Delhi clubbed the celebrations of Diwali with its fund raising initiative.Diwali stalls were set up at various corporate houses that include STM, Evalueserve, and

Pitney Bowes. The stalls consisted of products made by our volunteers such as diyas,

candles, chocolates, greeting cards, envelopes etc.

CHRISTMASSTALLS

AID Delhi set up Christmas stalls in December that consisted of various products such ashandicraft items, calendars, and t-shirts. The stalls were set up in corporate houses such

as Deloitte and Pitney Bowes.

HOLISTALLS

AID Delhi set up Holi stalls in March that consisted of various products such as Holi colours, pots, key chains,calendars, books and t-shirts. The stalls were set up in corporate houses such as Deloitte and Pitney Bowes.

REDEFINE YOUR CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

(CSR)Understand the evolution of Corporate Social Responsibility in India and incorporate CSR as an

integral part of business strategy

Develop a community engagement strategy. Bring together NGOs working in diverse fields like education, health, environment with

corporate/funding agencies to tie up partnerships through discussions.

Develop environmentally and socially responsible products and services. Engage your employees in giving back to the society through AIDs Corporate Volunteers

Program.

Provide cost effective solutions to the problems of underprivileged communities. Encourage your employees to participate in environment related initiatives.

JOIN USLove to teach children? Love to write, report and design? Care about the environment? Want

to strengthen Rights? Worried about new policies?

Simple steps by which YOU can make a difference:

Visithttp://delhi.aidindia.org Register yourself as a volunteer On receiving a welcome

note Subscribe yourself to the volunteer e-group One of our volunteer coordinators

will contact you within a week.
http://delhi.aidindia.org/http://delhi.aidindia.org/http://delhi.aidindia.org/http://delhi.aidindia.org/


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DONATEAll donations to AID Delhi are directed towards education, health & nutrition, skill building, campaigns and other

activities. You can donate to AID and its activities in the following manner:

Meal a Month: An initiative to donate an amount equivalent to one meal of yours to build future India. Even asingle penny counts! Rs 10, Rs 50, Rs 100, Rs 500...Whatever a meal costs you, we would like to share your

platter.

Donate Books: Donate academic books of your children after they have completed studying from them. Pledge support for formal education of a child/children.

These contributions are entitled to a 50% tax exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act.

How to donate in India

ELECTRONIC TRANSFERS: Internet banking users can make electronic transfers to AID-India's ICICI Bank Account.

CHEQUES: Cheques can be drawn in favor of AID-India's ICICI Bank Account and can be either mailed to or

deposited at any ICICI bank branch

CASH: Cash may be deposited at any ICICI bank branch quoting "AID-India" on the deposit slip.

AID-India - ICICI Bank Details

Branch: Royapettah High Road (RHR)

Location: Chennai

MICR code: 600229007

Account No.: 602201200299 (Savings)

Beneficiary address: 7/4 Besant Road, Royapettah, Chennai.

Phone: +91-44-42106493, 28350403

To receive a receipt for your donation, please send the following details [email protected]:

1. Your name and permanent address

2. Date, amount and mode (i.e., e-transfer, cheque, cash) of donation

3. Bank details together with the Cheque/Receipt number or E-transaction ID

If you are outside India and want to contribute to AID Indias Delhi chapter, then mail us your cheque (in any

currency), drawn in favor of "AID-India", along with a cover letter stating the purpose of donation.

AID INDIA- Bank Details for International Transfers

Punjab National Bank 0306010100082696

PNB Extension Counter, D A V School (under Anna Salai Branch) 383, Avvai Shanmugam Salai, Gopalapuram,

Chennai 600 086, Tamilnadu, India

IFSC (NEFT/ RTGS) code - PUNB0030600

ABA or SWIFT routing number of PNB India -00046612 in the name of PNB FEO Chennai.

CODE - PUNB IN BB MF

CONTACT US

Reach us at: www.aiddelhi.org AID Delhi on Facebook: www.facebook.com/delhi.aidindia

AID Delhi on Twitter: www.twitter.com/aiddelh AID Delhi on Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AID_Delhi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AID_Delhihttp://aidindia.org/donatemailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://aidindia.org/donatehttp://aidindia.org/donatehttp://aidindia.org/donatehttp://www.aiddelhi.org/http://www.facebook.com/delhi.aidindiahttp://www.twitter.com/aiddelhihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AID_Delhihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AID_Delhihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AID_Delhihttp://www.twitter.com/aiddelhihttp://www.facebook.com/delhi.aidindiahttp://www.aiddelhi.org/http://aidindia.org/donatehttp://aidindia.org/donatemailto:[email protected]

Documents

AID Delhi Newsletter (October 2010 to March 2011)